For now, Fisher's 1,500-square-foot store is still brimming with stacks of brightly-colored tutus and racks of leotards in every color. The store, which initially opened in downtown East Lansing, gets customers from as far as Traverse City and Indiana, Fisher said.

"We're a destination place. It doesn't matter what else is going on around us," she said. "Our customers found us."

Some customers have already brought in bouquets to say farewell to Fisher since she announced her retirement last week. Fisher said she plans to move to Florida since she has a sister and brother-in-law in Fort Lauderdale.

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Bottoms Up in Okemos on April 12, 2018. The store will close in May.(Photo: Haley Hansen/Lansing State Journal)

She said she's still getting used to the idea of retirement but would like to do some traveling. She's also looking forward to having more time for dancing.

Still, leaving the store is bittersweet.

"I'm going to miss our customers as much as they'll miss us," she said.

Fisher said Bottoms Up's wide selection and customer service has kept the business open for 40 years, and their dance shoes have always been popular.

"We know how to fit the shoes properly," she said. "You don't get that online."

Kelly Shipman first started shopping at Bottoms Up in 2001, when she was a cheerleader at Williamston High School.

On Thursday afternoon, she was looking deals with her 10-month-old daughter, Charlotte. She wanted to buy the girl a few dance items that she'd eventually grow into.

"I've liked being able to try things on," Shipman said. "The staff here is really friendly and helpful and can make suggestions."

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Bottoms Up in Okemos on April 12, 2018. The store will close in May.(Photo: Haley Hansen/Lansing State Journal)

Meghan Smith was also browsing Thursday afternoon. She's been shopping at Fisher's store since the fall, when her four-year-old daughter started dancing. She said she's not sure where she'll go to get dance shoes and dance wear in the future.

"They help you find what you need, and there's a large variety," she said. "And you have a better idea of how things are going to fit.":

Chris Buck, the economic development director for Meridian Township, said he reached out to Elliott when he learned that Fisher's store was closing. He declined to say whether Elliott was purchasing the property.

Buck said there will be a gap between the businesses closing and any new development coming in.

“My job is to make that gap as short as it can possibly be,” he said.

Buck said the township adopted a master plan in the fall that calls for a mixed-use development project in downtown Okemos.

The township board is currently looking at changing zoning ordinances to allow for four or five-story buildings in the area, he said.

Buck said it's a shame to see longtime businesses leave the area, although the changes could make it easier for new development to crop up.

“Hopefully that just means there’s a larger palate for a developer to paint on," he said.